Ideas For Smoking Some Turkey Legs

[duffman]

I got some Turkey legs cheap on sale late last year and forgot about them in my freezer until this weekend when I was getting something else out and saw them.

My problem is I have never smoked a turkey leg before and I need some ideas. Can you guys help me out?

 

[magnum3672]

What I've done in the past is to brine them (for some reason I've had bad luck with turkey legs drying out) then rub em down with whatever rub you want on em. Personally I do a "Montreal Chicken" type of a spice or stick to pure salt and pepper.  Then smoke it per usual.  I have also seen someone make a giant "buffalo wing" by marinating it in buffalo sauce then smoking to temp followed by a quick deep-fry or thrown on a hot grill.

There's a million things you can do with em.

ENJOY!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Here is a Brine and Rub that is a Favorite with members of my Family. I like Apple with Turkey or if you have an AMNPS Pellet Smoke Generator, the Pitmaster's Choice is awesome. This is a general purpose Brine and Rub for Poultry. It will work well with your Legs. If you wish more of a Ham flavor with that Pink Color you will need to add 1Tbs of Cure #1 to the Brine and let it soak 3 days ...JJ

Poultry Brine

1/2C Kosher Salt

2T Paprika

2T Gran Garlic

2T Gran Onion

2T Black Peppercorns

2T Dry Thyme

1C Cider Vinegar

1 Gallon Water

Mix and Soak Bird 12-24hours.

Drain and Dry Bird, Rest in refrigerator over night to dry skin.

Chix Bubba Q Rub

1/2C Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado)

2T Sweet Paprika (Hungarian)

1T Kosher Salt

1T Chili Powder (contains some Cumin and Oregano) Ancho Chile is same without cumin, oregano etc.

1T Granulated Garlic

1T Granulated Onion

1-2tsp Bell's Poultry Seasoning

1tsp Black Pepper, more if you like

1/2tsp Grnd Allspice

Cayenne or Chipotle Pwd to taste, start with 1/2tsp and go from there

 

[daveomak]

Duffman, morning....  Here is a thread on turkey legs I did awhile back....  Used a brine and cure #1 using pops recommendations on the amount of cure...  Turkey Ham Legs...  Different flavor...  It needed a different spice mix to compliment the ham flavor... When I get the spice mix right, I'm sure they will be better.... They were good, just not what I expected....  Next batch, I will use JJ's spice chart he just put up and go with something closer to pork, ham, for spices....  It was sure juicy and the smoke flavor was awesome....   Keep us posted on your leg smoke... 

Dave

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/120143/turkey-legs-brined-cured-and-smoked

 

[shoneyboy]

 

[duffman]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think I am ready to give them a shoot on Monday. 

 

[oldschoolbbq]

I hope they are not Freezer Burnt

 

[chef jimmyj]

Duffman, morning....  Here is a thread on turkey legs I did awhile back....  Used a brine and cure #1 using pops recommendations on the amount of cure...  Turkey Ham Legs...  Different flavor...  It needed a different spice mix to compliment the ham flavor... When I get the spice mix right, I'm sure they will be better.... They were good, just not what I expected....  Next batch, I will use JJ's spice chart he just put up and go with something closer to pork, ham, for spices....  It was sure juicy and the smoke flavor was awesome....   Keep us posted on your leg smoke... 

Dave

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/120143/turkey-legs-brined-cured-and-smoked

Howdy Dave, I know better but that color would scare the heck out of my 84 yearold Mom, she would swear I didn't cook it!...Great looking meal...JJ

 

[thoseguys26]

You won't lose with those recipes.

My favorite way is to cure, smoke and cool. I like to gnaw on a cold smoked turkey leg like a caveman. It's something we bought from little smoke shops (which always happened to be in a gas station)  in MN growing up. It's one of my favorite foods.

Here's a couple links to some info on some I did.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...bs-beef-butt-turky-drums-gizzards-hearts-pics

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/119370/more-smoked-turkey-legs-pics

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-smoked-turkey-leg-qv-special-preview-picture

 

[duffman]

I hope they are not Freezer Burnt

I hope not either! 

 

[duffman]

I hope they are not Freezer Burnt

I hope not either! 

 

[duffman]

Got the Turkey Legs on the smoker. I thought I had 6 turns out there were three in each package not 2. So I have 9 turkey legs on smoker. 5 with a BBQ rub on them 4 with just salt and pepper.

http://instagr.am/p/LLpyZEx0r7/?fb_...aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

 

[duffman]

Here are the final shots. One of them pff the smoker.

http://instagr.am/p/LMEgV0R0sG/

and another of the smoke ring.

http://instagr.am/p/LMEvKKx0sW/

They tasted great! My wife really liked them. We ate two cave man style, in the bone, for sinner. I froze the other three that had BBQ rub. I also froze two fo the salt and pepper. The other two salt and peper we are going to cut up to make Turkey and noodles later this week. We will for sure be making these again.